2006 Terror Conviction Overturned For Lodi Man Hamid Hayat
SACRAMENTO (CBS13/AP) – The conviction of Hamid Hayat, a Lodi man accused of attending a terrorist training camp in Pakistan and plotting an attack in the US, has been overturned.
The decision to overturn the ruling was filed on Tuesday by US District Judge Garland Burrell Jr.
Hayat was convicted back in 2006, but the conviction had come under scrutiny. Earlier in 2019, a federal magistrate recommended overturning Hayat's conviction – arguing that the young cherry picker from Lodi would likely had never been convicted if it were not for the inexperience of his defense attorney.
"We have been waiting 14 long years for Hamid to be freed. Hamid cannot get those 14 years of his life back, but we are relieved to see the case take such a big step forward," Hayat's family said in a statement.
Hayat has served about half of his 24-year sentence.
Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.